Method of preventing crystallization of a melted mass of crystals



.- 35 -tio n cools and vis subject to an impulse, which I urnrnonjorPREVENTING oRYsrAL'LIzATIoN or A MELTED MAss F cRYsirn s,

j51 '3 8 0i5-..- a a No Drawing. Original application filed Iiui 10,1917, Serial 1a, 119, 70. Divided and this ap pli cation UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

" asman; FERGUSON, oF'NEw YORK, Y., AssIeNoRTo PYRENEMANUFACTURING ICOMPANY, A CORPORAT ION QF DELAWARE.

' fi edse t mb afz, 1917. serial No. 1i9 3,61 0.

v T 0 @2140 tomit may concern .Be it known that'I, GEORGEE. Fnneuson,

a 'citizen'of the United States, and resident ;0.f th'ecity, county, andState of NewYork,

have invented certaininew and usefulIm- :provements in Methods ofPreventing Crys- 1 tallization ofa Melted Mass of Crystals, of Which.-the followingv is a specification.

v ,iThis invention relates'to amethodof preventing crystallization of 'ameltedinass of:

crystals or, more particularly, to a method offretainingjsaltscontainingWater of crys tallizationdissolved inrtheir own Water of crystallizationas long' as desired.

Thisapplication: is a divisional applica-, tion from my application forchemical heat" generaton-filed July 10th, 1917, under Ser. j

No, 179670. j

1: en, salts of this kind crystallize, subsequent'tofbeing dissolved intheir own water .'-,of- ,crystall1zat1on, heatis generated by such,v-crystallizatiom'as is-Well known ;While;eflforts have been made toconstruct heat generators making use ofsuch crystal-z] 'lizablje saltsno heat generatorhas been de-' vise'd-which would permit ofthe salts,after firstgbeingv melted to dissolve them in their 1 ;,Water ofcrystallization byuthe, application of heat,;being retained in suchmelted or liquid condition until the generation of heat" is desired,

, A= solutiongio f a crystallizable salt disv solved initsotvn Water ofcrystallization, or,

-inother;vvorcls, a meltedi mass of crystals, is V V I'-l1'zat1on,ittvas very deslrable'that the mass in a' veryrunstablecondition when the solu haso'hitherto been found to bepractically unpreventable, and resolves itself into Crys- I -talformation, such crystallization'being retaining of the salts in'such.meltedcondibrought about byure action ofanyouts'ide influence onthefliquidmass, such as a shock to melt the salts.

' Themost {serious difiiculty, as far as the tioninja heat generatorusewas concerned,

,lay in the fact that a jarring or abrupt:

below' room temperature, danger of crystalllz ation."

by hichcrystallizing of the liquid mass during p 1 could beprevented."

rdinary handlingof the container Furthermore, as far asanypractic'al usein a heat generator. of this kind was. conicerned', any means i which"might be discovjered for holding such salts inmelted co'ndi- "tion'W'oulcthave to be of'a nature Which'al- 7 Specification of LettersPatent. i 19,1921, a

lowed jof the salts being caused to :c'rystal lize, at any desired timeand then. subseasdesired. r e a ,a

After considerable experiment andaobservation I'discovered that if theliquid mass the containenthelatter might besubjected fltoi any handling,jolt'ing or "jarring, orrthe :liquid' remain foran indefinite lengthquently being again meltedand'held in such melted condition andtheoperation repeated vasinclosedin a container "in-"a manner- Vvvl1ich-\vould exclude therefrom and prevent movement of the liquid massas a whole. in the containena'nd preventfiany. agitation or impact orblow between-any portion of theliquid and the surrounding surfaces of oftime insuch'container, or be supercooled I In'effectingjthis'sealing'there were certain COIldltlOIlS, the conslderatlon ofwhich Was essential, 7 Since a disturbance of the liquidma's'sgafter'cooling would result'i'n crystal be sealediwhile ma heatedicon'ditionrand which occurs upon cooling 1 device, even 'lW'er'e oneflyvorkediout tofulfil *Witliout any that the seal would stillremaihgoodiafter a subsequent shrinkage of the-liquidzumass, v

Since the-use' of ny mechanicalsealing ,l' 1

all the above oonelitions', would. add to the e.

manufacturingcost,such devicesxtvere elimi a v .nated fromconsideration. Attention "was s directed "to=. 'theuse' of organicsealing fmatef rials which vv ould be solid at normal tem. peratures;and i which would melt easily and beea'sily'ruptured." .1 p vExperiments Were made with'the various commercialwaxesaasealingmedium-for the mouth'of-thecontainer but-it was-found 1-05 Y J'that'theyicould not be reliedupon to fulfil I l theabove'j'conditions'fi Fori th heater to :be

of practical use it desirable that theseal should be automaticallyreapplied by the -crystallizable material were heated together v of thelatter, which 7 they did not satisfactorily meet. During cooling oftheliquid mass a certain amount of shrinkage thereof occurs and itf{Uponi heat being applied to the container,

simple heating of the container tomelt the crystals, after any previoususe of the heater. g

Experiments with paraflin wax, both hard. medium and soft, were'firstmade.

combinations of these waxes, were tried. These experiments were H{ht/1011s in which the heater would actually have tobe used, that is tosay, the wax and in a suitable container; These waxes ful filled certainof the conditions in that they g V the crystallizablematerial and-thesealing vmaterial, may

were 'of less specific gravity than the melted mass of crystals and wereinsoluble therein:

and would, therefore, alwaysv float on top but there were otherconditions was found that these waxes or combinationof waxes/could notbe rel ed upon with cer tainty to adhere ,with requisite firmness'toelasticity or pliability to follow itshi inks while cooling.

therebetween and the mass closely as with the .walls of the sides of thecontainer mouth orneck while at the sametime,possess ngsufiicient the lquid .Moreover, asfthese waxes themselves contiQChWllllE cooling, (and snce coohngnatfromthe exteriorlof any waX as it solidified withcomparative quickness along the surfaces thereof in contact thecontainer: tended I to, produce minute indentations orscorings'in thesurface of the wax which left spacescontainer walls, which spaces wereliable to sage between the o seal, leading from the exterior thereof tothe liquid mass.

Finally a mixture of paraffin wax andfilanohn was obtained which 'quiredcondition,

fulfilled the re- I adhering closely to, the walls of the container ,asthe liquid crystal mass 0001s,. having substantially the same one Ipartlof sodiumthiosulfate with five mole- I found also that theconstruction of the;

- nation of four parts of melting point as the crystals and also cool,-

ing at aboutthe same rate ,ofspee das the latter, while it does notshrink upon cool ng.

Various crystallizablesalts may, of course, be employed as desired inthe heat generr ator, my invention not; being limited in its applicationto any nation of salts. I. I have found that a combisodium acetate ,withthree molecules water of crystallization and miles of water ofcrystallization was satisfactory for use in a fchemicall eat generator.

jcontainer had, in one respect, a bearing on the Vpreventing-pfVcrystallization It was found desirable that the walls of the con tainerbe sufliciently rigid to withstand all Then all- ;the other knowncommercial waxes and then tried under the conof the user, the containeras struction there shown may sealing material, because of form aconnecting pasontainer .walls and'- w ax sealing material with anyspecificlgsalts or combi' a while any impact or case is a divis1on,'Ihave lllustrated my invention applied to a heat generator adapted moreparticularly for use in place of the well known hot water bag to applyexternal heatto'adesired portion of the body being of flattened desireddeparture circular shape,

be followed In the original preparation ofithe'heater,

be introduced in' any form into the container. The containermay be rial,such as paraffin'wax and lanolin,-' may beintrodu'ced together orseparately.

which may convenlently' be doneby; im-mersing the latter in boilingwater,;both the'salts and the sealingfmaterial' are melted; 'The V itsbeing of less specific gravity, remalns or floats upon the top of themelted crystals and, upon thecon- ,tain'er being left'to cool in" anupright position, the sealing: material solidifies "and forms a sealover the liquid mass which effectually holds .thelliqui-d againstagitation andrelative movement and prevents crystallization'thereof. f}i 1 The salts and sealing material can he melted separatelyand'in'troducjeid in meltedform into the 7 container ployed forassembling or other me'thods' cmthe salts and sealing as desired,

material in the container,

of heat, :it is, only necessary to piercethe sharp or pointed v'breakthe seal, when the introduction of the piercing in struinenjt,causing a disturbance or impact bet-ween the particles of the liquid,and the admissionf of air to j the liquid; will cause instrument, orotherwise crystallization, with "a resultant "generation of heat, or ifcrystallization is slow in starting it can be hastened by shaking'thecon tain'er after the piercing of the seal'z'.

The generator isagain putin condition for future service by reheating(by immersion in hotlw'ater or otherwise) to meltthe crystals andsealing material; and then al-' lowing 1t 7 melted crystals cool andthesealing' material to "remain undisturbed till the solidifies.

With the melted niass 'of 'crystals sealed in the container as abovedescribed, the mass from, the atmosphere, relati've 'morement andfriction between the variousparticles thereof,'o'r-between the liquidmass of melted crystals and the walls of the container, is

there shown but any from the shapeand con When it is desired to causethegeneration mateprevented; efiec'tually'f.prevents? l the crystallizationof the liquid, regardless of the handling of theicontainer, untiliti'sdesired to start the action again as above de- V 7 whensolidified'has a. greater 'strengthiof -ad-" .flliesionwith thewallsofthe container than cohesion between the particles thereof scribed.

WhatIclaim is: y ij '1. The method of.preventing crystalliza tionof a.melted massofcrystals which co'n- Z sists in. causing" said. melted massof crystals f and a melted sealing substance of less specific gravityandjadaptedto solidify at normal temperature to be held while 1n heatedcondition in a container, and simultaneously cooling and causing a sealto be applied to said melted mass of crystals holding'the same in meltedform against relative movement in said container. V

2. The method of preventing crystalliZation of a melted mass of crystalswhich consists in inclosing saidimelted massof crystals-in a manner toprevent agitation thereof by simultaneously melting therewith a sealingsubstance having substantially'the same melting point as that ofthelc'rystals but of lessspecific gravityand adapted to solidify atnormal temperature, and simul taneously cooling said'melted crystals andsealing substance.

'3. The method of preventing crystallization of a melted mass ofcrystals which consists in inclosing said melted mass of crystals in amanner to exclude a-ir'therefrom and 'preventagitation thereof bysimultaneously meltingtherewith a sealing. substance havingsubstantially-the same meltingpoint v as that of thecrystals but of lessspecific gravity and adapted -to solidify normal 7 temperature, andsimultaneously cooling saidmelted crystals and sealing substance.

4:. The method of preventing crystalliza tion of a melted mass ofcrystals which consists in inclosing said melted mass of crystals whilein heated condition in a container,

and applying thereto a seal adapted to solidify andmaintain contact withthe said melted mass during the cooling and shrinking of the latterwithout rupture of the:

seal. v

5. The method of preventing crystallization of a meltecl mass ofcrystals which con-.-

sists in causing said meltedmass of crystals to beheld whlle in heatedcondition in a container and sealing sa1d melted mass w1th a molten sealoforganic material which solidifies while cooling to normaltemperature.* Y a 6. The method of storing heat which consists insimultaneously" heating in a container a substance containing water ofcrys tallization and a sealing substance of lesser specific gravitywhich solidifies at normal temperature and allowing said substances tocool in said container. v

7. The method of preventing crystallization of aliquid substance whichconsists in while in a semiasolid" condition-.

. ,ausi'ngisai d substan'ceito' be held in a con- 'ta1'ner while'iinheated condition andsealing said' container simultaneously with thecooling of the substancewith a material' which 8. The method ofpreventing said substance to beheld in a container while heatedcondition" and sealing said container simultaneously with the cooling ofthe substance with a material maintaining contact with the surface ofsaid 7 crystalliza-I tion of a liquid substance which consists insubstance, as the latter shrinks 'whilecool ing without movement of theparticles of the material in engagement with the wallef the containerrelatively to said wall.

9. The method of preventing crystallization of amelted massof crystalswhich consists in causing said meltedmass of crystals to be held whilein heated conditionin a'container, melting normally solid organic sea-lting material and'causing said: melted sealing material to rest upon saidmeltedma'ss of.

crystals while the latter is in heated condition, and cooling saidmelted crystals and sealing material.

10. The method of preventing crystalliza-i tion of a meltedjmass ofcrystals which consists in causing said melted mass of crystals to beheld while in heated condition in a container, and sealing saidcontainer with a I' to be held while in heated condition inla contamer,and sealing sa1d contalner with a The method of preventingcrystallizasists in causing said melted mass of crystals] molten mixtureof parafiin wax 'andl'anolinl; 12. The method of preventingcrystallization of a melted mass of crystals which (2011- Y sists incausing said melted mass of crystals to be held while in heatedcondition in a container, applying a normally solidv sealing substanceto said melt-ed massof crystals while in heatedcondition, and coolingsaid melted mass of crystals, said sealingj substance maintainingcontact with the entire exposed surface of saidmelted mass of crystalswhile cooling and, upon solidifying, preventing relative movement of anyportions thereof.

13.; The methodof preventing crystalliza}.

tion of a melted mass of crystals which 0011- sists incausing saidmelted mass of crystals to be held while in heated conditionin a container, applying 'a sealing means thereto of melted organic materialhaving substane tially thesame melting point as the mass of crystals,and cooling'said melted crystals and seal." V

1 14. The method of preventing crystallization of a melted mass ofcrystals which consists in causing said melted mass offcrystals to beheld While n heatedc0nd1t10n in a contajiner, applying a sealing'meansthereto eom-' a molten seal adaptedto solidify posed of uponcooling andprevent movement of the melted mass of crystals as a Whole in'saidcontainer and relative movement 'between portions thereof, and coolingsaid melted V r New York, th's' 25 dayof September, 1917.

of preventing crystallization of a melted mass of crystals whichconcrystals and, seal.

15. The, method tainer; applying a sealing means to said melted m'ass ofcrystals composed of iL-II10lsists in causing sg idmelted mass ofcrystals to be held While in heated 'co'ndition in'aconten materialwhich solidifies at normal-temperature and adheres to the Walls of thecon-' tainen upon solidifying} and cooling said melted crystalsandseal.

Signed at the city; county and State of or GEORGE-IE;FERGUSON:

